[10] In promotion of the release, As Friends Rust toured the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe several times between March and November 2002, accompanied by such bands as Brand New, Coheed and Cambria, Thursday, Sick of It All, The Movielife, Shai Hulud, Planes Mistaken for Stars, Open Hand, Shelter, Keepsake, Hotwire, Fairweather, The Sainte Catherines, This Day Forward, Bloodlet, The Reunion Show, The Stryder, Liars Academy, Running from Dharma, Prevent Falls, The Remedy Session, and The Copperpot Journals.

[11][12] The band had previously released three extended plays; The Fists of Time, a split with Discount (both in 1998) and As Friends Rust (in 1999), and had been touring in promotion of that material since June 1998.

[27][28][29] As Friends Rust then dedicated its time from mid-September to late October 2001 to composing new songs for the extended play, with plans to record the material in December 2001 and for a release date set in March 2002.

[7][34] The title of the release was a play on a line of dialog from the film The Big Lebowski, in which Jeff Bridges delivers "a young trophy wife, in the parlance of our times".

[38][23] The material recorded for A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times differed slightly from what was originally announced ten months prior.

[39][35][36] A week following the recording session, Moyal quit As Friends Rust, citing dissatisfaction with touring and wanting to focus on school and his then-girlfriend.

[7][41] In retrospective interviews, Moyal stated that the new members, Beckham, Swain and Rankine, were taking As Friends Rust in a more mainstream and polished direction, which in turn led to his loss of interest.

[17] In an interview conducted shortly after Moyal's departure, Rankine revealed that frictions with the vocalist had become increasingly problematic, especially since the band's recent European and British tour in October–December 2001.

[35][36] Due to contractual obligations, the band was required to include "As Friends Rust appears courtesy of Doghouse Records" in the booklet.

[7] Adam D'Zurilla (formerly of Short Order, Esteem, Die Tomorrow and Kumité) was finally welcomed as Moyal's replacement in late March 2002, allowing Beckham to return to playing guitar.

[7][52][53][54] The entire tour was originally to be shared with Montreal, Quebec-based punk rock band The Sainte Catherines, and covered nearly all of the country, but due to last minute changes, As Friends Rust ended up playing mostly newly-booked shows restricted to Quebec and Ontario.

[7] As Friends Rust travelled as a four-piece, with Simmons as sole guitarist, for its month-long tour of Europe and the United Kingdom, which spanned from August 8 to September 11, 2002.

[60][59] As Friends Rust was supported by British pop punk band The Copperpot Journals on its ten-date United Kingdom leg.

[63][64] Although As Friends Rust officially played its last show on September 11, 2002, in Amsterdam, Netherlands,[60] the band would continue to be billed under its old name as additional tours had been booked well-in-advance for the remainder of 2002.

[60][65] As such, Salem continued to play As Friends Rust songs and tour in promotion of Won and A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times for several more months.

[7] Salem officially played its first show on September 28, 2002, at The Factory in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, opening for Further Seems Forever, though the band was billed as As Friends Rust.

[7][65] Salem was again billed as As Friends Rust during a tour with Fairweather, Liars Academy, Open Hand and Codeseven, and another with Shelter, Keepsake and Running from Dharma, which both covered the South Eastern United States and together spanned from October 7–21, 2002.

[7][65][63] It was only once touring began with The Movielife, Brand New and The Reunion Show, which spanned from October 28 to November 16, 2002, across the United States, that the previously-booked billing was corrected to feature the band's new name.

[7][63][65][66] Upon returning home from this tour, Swain quit the band and Salem properly began moving on to new things away from As Friends Rust.

[71][76][86] Comparisons were still drawn to Hot Water Music,[70][87] Avail,[88][87] Alkaline Trio,[88][73] Dag Nasty,[87] Henry Rollins,[68] Glenn Danzig,[5] Less Than Jake,[70] Reach the Sky,[2] Good Clean Fun,[89] The Mighty Mighty Bosstones,[73] Thursday,[90] At the Drive-In,[90] Saves the Day,[2] and Strike Anywhere,[2] along with perceived elements of Sisters of Mercy,[82][77] Pink Floyd,[5][6] Type O Negative,[83] and Dinosaur Jr.[91] The music on A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times was described as radio-friendly,[80][76] melodic,[89][74] energetic,[68][2] catchy,[77][92] driving,[70] and poppy.